Hate This and I'll Love You
by issitohbi
Summary: TW/CW: Abuse! (Female OC) Melanie must make the difficult choice between the one she loves out of fear, and fears out of love.
1. Hogwarts Express

**Hello~ This is my very first story on FanFiction, but if you read on multiple writing sites, you may have heard of it. A friend of mine and I started this story in like 2010 and I just barely finished it. Unfortunately, the website I've been so dedicated to seems to be dying. It's not only really sad, but extremely frustrating. Since this story is complete, all that's left to do is post it. I can't take any suggestions on the direction to take this story, but any other feedback would be greatly appreciated.**

It was chilly for the first of September; usually there was a bit of warmth left when school started, but today was cold enough to make Melanie Parker pull her jacket tighter around her as she boarded the Hogwarts Express. _I know Draco said to wait for him, but the train leaves soon and I need to find a compartment,_ she thought to herself, trying to justify why she was going against what Draco had told her. She never went against what he said if she could help it. He had told her to wait by the north end of the train until he showed up, but she couldn't wait any longer. The halls of the train were packed; she was jostled back and forth as she tried to make her way down to the normal Slytherin compartments. Maybe, if she was lucky, she'd find a semi-empty compartment where she could save a spot for Draco.

 _Maybe he forgot about me again..._ A voice in her head thought. _He did that last year, and I nearly missed the train... All because he wanted to sit next to Pansy..._ Melanie quickly cut off her thoughts there. Just thinking that name made her blood run cold and her stomach knot up. Sure, she had assumed there was something going on between them. But, to catch them snogging all over his room last summer had still taken her by surprise. Of course, Draco had talked himself out of that predicament, and somehow she was still with him. It made no sense at all; any logical person would have left the first time he cheated, and any logical person certainly would have been gone after the second time. But here she was, still hanging around after the third time. Some things just didn't add up.

As she reached the Slytherin compartments, her mood dropped and her stomach twisted in anxiety. All the seats were pretty much taken. No one would make room for Melanie Parker. She was nothing, a nobody, without Draco at her side. Which he wasn't at the moment. Blaise Zabini and Marcus Flint only paid attention to her when it was absolutely necessary, and even Crabbe and Goyle weren't that fond of her. She sighed inwardly as she passed the last compartment, which was full. Reluctantly, Melanie turned around and headed back the way she came.

"Out of the way!" A seventh year shouted, brushing past Melanie and knocking her into a compartment. She stumbled to catch her balance, and quickly looked around to apologize to whoever she had disturbed. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw who she had intruded on.

Harry Potter was sleeping against the window of the compartment. His glasses were askew on his face and a light snore was escaping from him.

 _I shouldn't be here,_ she thought, beginning to panic. Draco would be angry enough to find that she hadn't waited for him. If he caught her in this compartment, with his enemy, she shuddered to think about what would happen.

But, as she turned to walk out of the compartment, she was blocked by the ever moving wall of students. She sighed again. _I can't go out just yet... I'll be swept away again. I might as well wait until the crowd dies down..._

She stiffly sat down on the seat as far away from Harry as she could manage. The trolley pushed its way up the aisle, and stopped at her door. She quietly ordered a few chocolate frogs and some boxes of every flavored beans, as well as some other things that caught her eye.

As she began snacking on some jelly beans, she heard a soft gasp of astonishment. Harry had woken up. His emerald green eyes met with her liquid blue ones.

"I'm so sorry if I disturbed you..." She whispered, standing and turning to rush out the door. A gentle hand grabbed her arm and pulled her back.


	2. Confrontations

Melanie froze as she felt the hand close around her wrist, a chill running up her spine at the smooth, warm feel of Harry's hand. It was nothing like the feeling she got when Draco held her; cold and stony. This was different. Harry was gentle and kind, caring and fun. Draco was cold when he was around Melanie, but she stayed with him anyways. She was a Slytherin, people would think badly of her if she dumped Draco. A million thoughts were running through her head that moment Harry grabbed her arm.

 _"_ _Hello," A girl asked, "May my friends and I join you?" She had bushy brown hair and her two friends had striking red hair and a deep black hair color._

 _"Sure," Melanie said, smiling. She found out that the bushy haired girl was named Hermione, the boy with red hair was Ron, and the boy with black hair was Harry._

 _Hermione took out her wand and was practicing some spells on a piece of paper. "So what house do you think you'll be in, Melanie?" She asked._

 _Melanie wasn't sure what to say, surely, if she said she would be a Slytherin like her parents, they wouldn't talk to her anymore._

 _"Umm, I'm not sure, actually, what about you?" She asked, trying to avoid the subject._

 _"Well, both of my parents are Muggles, so I might be placed in any of the houses. I just hope not to get Slytherin," She looked at Ron, "Ronald will probably be placed in Gryffindor like the rest of his family was," Then she glanced at Harry, "And both of Harry's parents were in Gryffindor as well, so I suspect he will be placed there with Ronald." She paused for a moment, as if waiting for Melanie to say something, but then continued. "What houses were your parents in ?" She questioned._

 _Melanie looked at their curious faces. "That's unimportant right now..." She said, trailing off.  
For the rest of the train ride, they all talked happily like they were the best of friends, even though they barely knew each other. When the sorting started, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were all sorted as Gryffindors and Melanie as a Slytherin along with Draco._

She had known Draco for her whole life. Her parents had known each other for a long time as well. That's just how it was with Pureblood families. Harry happened to be the same Harry Potter that her and Draco's families talked so ill of. Her father and Draco's parents were Death Eaters and they were to aid the Dark Lord in the killing of Harry Potter. From the sorting to this sixth year, she never really talked to the trio. Draco wouldn't allow it. The only time she talked to them was when they were put together in classes, but even then she knew someone was keeping an eye on her.

She slowly looked up at Harry through thick lashes, her lips slightly parted in astonishment. "Harry..." She started, but didn't know exactly what she wanted to say, her and Harry never had really gotten the chance to get to know each other after they were sorted into enemy houses.

"You don't have to leave, Melanie," He said, "I won't tell Draco you were with me." His voice was gentle and his grasp on her arm had lifted. He half smiled at her, and moved to close the compartment door and draw the curtains. She didn't stop him; instead she sat down. Harry sat down across from her and offered her a chocolate frog.

"No thanks." She said, her voice so low it was almost a whisper. She looked out the window at the trees passing by them. The sky which was a vibrant blue when she boarded the train started to turn into a violent gray. She stood up, as did Harry, to peer out the window. That's when the trains speed suddenly bolted forward, then to a sudden stop. Melanie was thrown into Harry; they both ended up on the floor, Harry on top of Melanie.


	3. Lies

A bolt of lightening tore through the sky, illuminating the compartment. Melanie locked eyes with Harry for just a moment, before desperately trying to scramble off of him.

"Hey, hey, it's alright, Melanie, calm down," Harry soothed, grabbing her elbow.

"No, I- I need to go. I shouldn't have stayed… I need to find Draco." She said, close to sobbing. She began to push herself off of Harry, just as the train jerked to a start. Her hands were knocked out from under her, and she fell back into him. Her face was just a few inches away from his, and she felt her cheeks grow hot. Harry smiled softly up at her, and grabbed her hand to begin to help her up.

"Yeah, I'm tellin' you, that Ravenclaw girl is totally hot! She-" Marcus Flint cut off his sentence as he threw open the compartment door, looking for a place to sit down. Melanie's head snapped up and she locked eyes with Flint, her blood running cold.

"Oh, won't Draco love to hear about this?" He said, his voice low, a sneer on his face.

"Please, Flint, I can explain! The train-"

"Explain all you want, Mel. Explain to _Draco_."

"Back off, Flint. It was an accident," Harry said, sitting up. He eased Melanie off of him and onto the ground. Standing up, he held out a hand to pull her up. Flint shoved past him and grabbed Melanie by the arm, yanking her up. She drew in a sharp breath of pain as he pulled her out into the hallway.

"So, you're off on your own, feeling up Potter, while Draco sits round waiting for you to show up?"

"H-he never m-met me on the platform…" she whispered, trying to keep the tears from flowing.

"Now you're making up excuses?" He demanded, grabbing the door to a compartment and throwing it open. "Look who I caught feeling up the Potter boy!" Flint exclaimed, throwing Melanie to the ground. She caught herself just before her face met the ground, but she stayed hunched down. A pair of newly polished shoes sat underneath her face, tapping out a slow, deadly rhythm. Her body froze as Draco began to speak. His voice was low and steady, so quiet she had to struggle to hear his words.

"You disobeyed me to go play around with Potter?"

"N-no, Draco… I-I was looking for you, a-and I got knocked into a compartment, a-and Harry was there, and-"

"And he forced you on top of him?" Flint sneered, crossing his arms. Draco's foot came to a stop. The whole compartment went quiet. Slowly, ever so slowly, Melanie began to look up. Her heart twisted in anger and pain as she saw the short, slender girl perched on his lap. Pansy sat, smirking down at Melanie, with her arms wrapped around Draco's neck. Her skirt was hiked up way too far, and her shirt was cut way too low. Draco's face was made of stone as he glared down at you, his hand resting lightly on Pansy's waist.

"Draco…" She said quietly, pleading with her eyes.

"Give us some privacy," Draco said coolly, waving his hand at the others in the compartment.

 _No… no, please don't leave.. please don't leave us alone…_ Melanie thought desperately, slowly getting to her feet. As Pansy stood up off Draco's lap, he gently pushed her out of the compartment, his hand lingering a little too long on her backside. Finally, she and Draco were alone. As he closed the door, he kept his back to her. Melanie slowly backed up the press her back against the window. A bolt of lightening flashed, followed by a huge crash of thunder.

"Draco, Flint makes it seem worse than-"

"Shut up, Melanie." He hissed, spinning around. His face was darker and his eyes were burning with anger. "You made me look like a fool today." He took a few steps forward; Melanie pushed herself back against the window as much as she could.

"Y-you never met me at t-the platform… I didn't want to miss the train and-"

"You went looking for Potter, didn't you?"

"No Draco! I didn't! I swear!"

"Why would Flint lie to me? Huh?"

Draco rushed forward and slammed his hands down on either side of Melanie, pinning her to the wall. She flinched away and cried,

"H-he isn't lying! But he doesn't know the whole story and-"

Draco brought his hand across Melanie's face as hard as he could. Her head snapped around and slammed into the window. Flinching a way she grasped at her cheek as Draco brought his hand up again.

"The whole story doesn't matter! You belong to me. To _me_ , Melanie. Not to any guy who walks up to you. Do you hear me?"

Melanie gave a feeble nod, her head still spinning. Draco gave a small snort of amusement and let his hands drop. Melanie quickly sat down on the seat and Draco sat next to her. He grabbed her wrist and she automatically flinched. Draco paid no attention, and pulled her closer.

"You know I love you, Melanie. You're beautiful. You're my girlfriend. We can't have people spreading rumors."

Melanie listened to the usual speech Draco gave. He always claimed to love her. She doubted it. But… she loved _him_ so much…

"If you love me," she said suddenly, turning to face Draco. "Why do you let Pansy hang all over you? You know I don't like her."

Draco stiffened, and his face hardened. Melanie began to scoot away, but Draco pulled her into his side and held her tightly. She could feel how tense he was. A voice in the back of her head was telling her to stop here; let him lie, and let her go free.

"She's just a friend, Melanie. You know I don't love her more than you."

"Then why? I saw how she was sitting with you, Draco. I saw you feel her up when she left. I'm not stupid."

Draco's hand tightened around her upper arm, and she tried not to focus on the pain.

"Melanie. That's enough."

"You get mad when I even look at another guy, but I can't get mad when that little slut is climbing all over you and-"

Draco began to crush her arm as he yanked her away from him. "Don't go there, Melanie. You're not on good terms with me."

"Draco, let go." She said softly, pulling away. As the compartment door slid open, Draco immediately released her arm and pulled her to his side once again. Blaise, Flint, Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle piled into the compartment, pulling the door shut behind them.

Almost immediately, Pansy began to slide over to Draco. As she lifted her leg onto his, Draco slid her off and pulled Melanie onto his lap. He wrapped his arms around her, and rested his chin on her shoulder.

Melanie's heart twisted in agony; she loved when he hugged her, which was something rare. But, like right now, the only time he showed her affection was to make other girls jealous. She saw the smug look on his face reflected in the window as Pansy sat back and pouted. When Pansy left, he'd push Melanie off his lap and move away. And that would be that.

For now, she leaned onto him, resting her head on his chest. It was good enough for now. It was the only reason she ever liked Pansy being around. If her presence made Draco hug her and act like he liked her, it was worth the unsettling feelings and painful memories.

But still, as Draco played with her hand, she couldn't help but notice the way that his touch seemed cold and uncaring. Not like Harry's. When Harry had taken her hand, things felt right. She wanted things to feel right again.


	4. Fights

It started to rain and the Hogwarts Express was quickly approaching the school. Reluctantly, Melanie lifted her head off of Draco's chest. "I think I should be changing into my robes now, Draco," She said, getting up. He nodded as she retrieved her things from her suitcase and walked out of the compartment.

Draco turned to Pansy, telling her to follow Melanie. Pansy jumped up from the seat, making sure to give Draco full view of her black lace panties as she skipped out of the compartment and after Melanie.

Melanie slowly walked to the bathrooms where she would change, knowing she would have to pass by Harry's compartment on the way there. _I wonder what is going to happen between us…_ She thought, _I mean, I know we don't talk much, but surely something was going on earlier. And he seems like a really good guy._ The corridors of the train seemed to get longer with every step she took. She had this pulling feeling inside of her to talk to Harry, but she knew if she did, that would mean another possible beating from Draco.

She passed Harry's compartment and noticed that someone had dawn the curtains and blinds. _Maybe he switched compartments after Flint dragged me out…_ But then she heard voices. 'She seems really nice for a Slytherin..' '…and then we fell…' 'Flint dragged her away?!' It was too much to listen to, so she continued on her way for the bathrooms.

When she got there, the car was really crowded, so she waited by the back walls of the hall for there to be a vacant room. Spotting Harry as she glanced to the side, she noticed he was walking right towards her. She turned around and looked at the wall, but she could still feel him at her back.

"Melanie.." Harry began, reaching a had for her shoulder, but she flinched away from him. He winced, not knowing what to do; how to comfort her. "Melanie, I'm not going to hurt you."

She didn't turn to face him, but spoke in a light voice, trying to choke back tears. "Go away, Harry," she whispered. "Please leave me alone."

"Not until you look at me, Melanie. I will stand here until the train stops and everyone leaves." Reluctantly, Melanie turned towards Harry, keeping her gaze downwards. _Will he notice the bruise on my face?_

"What happened to you?" He asked her, and she could feel his fingertips lifting her chin up. She avoided his gaze, and could feel other eyes on her. She didn't answer him, and for while he didn't speak. "Melanie," his voice was strong. "What happened to you?"

She could feel a tear run down her face and she knew there was going to be a bad scene here. "Nothing happened, Harry. Please let me go." Her voice was barely a whisper, nothing more than a breath escaping her.

"What do you mean nothing happened? Your skin was flawless when you were in the compartment with me earlier, now you have a bruise on your face. It was Draco, wasn't it?" He looked at her, but she didn't move a muscle. "I'll kill him, Melanie." He turned away, probably looking for the compartment that Draco was in. Pansy ran off to tell Draco what she had heard. "I'll kill him."

Melanie rushed the few steps to where Harry was and grabbed his arm. "Please don't get into this!" She exclaimed. "Just leave him alone, Harry. You barely know me anymore, so you have nothing to worry about."

He whirled around and looked at her, an angry look on his face. For a minute, she thought he was going to hit her. She hadn't noticed that he was slowly backing her into the wall, his hands on either side of his face. "I may not know you as well as some of the others, but I know you are a sweet girl; someone way too innocent to be a Slytherin. And I know that when I met you on the first train ride to Hogwarts, I thought for sure you would be in Gryffindor. When we had detention together or had to be partners in class I could see it: you have a heart too pure to be a Slytherin."

"Stop it, Harry," She whispered, looking to the side. The train lurched again as the rain picked up and Harry was pressed against her. Melanie let out a slight gasp at the sudden pressure on her body, but neither she nor Harry moved; although, she really couldn't move in a position like that.

That's when Draco came, Pansy on his arm. "I told you Drackie!" She said in a high pitched voice that was more like a scream. "I told you she went to meet him."

Draco stood a few feet away from Melanie and Harry. Melanie was too petrified to say anything, to do anything. Harry had moved from in front of her, to putting her a little ways behind him like a shield.

"Get away from my girlfriend, Potter," Draco's voice was firm and angry, but Harry didn't budge. "Come here, Mel," he called, trying to mask his voice in honey. She knew it was just to hid his anger. She knew he didn't love her.

Harry stepped closer to Draco, and you could see how he was just an inch shorter. "And what'll you do if I don't ?" He questioned. "How can you do that to her, beat her? Don't you feel guilty? I mean, you claim to love her, yet you do things like that to her," He pointed at the mark on Melanie's face. "I bet you didn't even listen to a thing she said. Flint sure didn't. I tried telling him about the train. Hogwarts has gotten dangerous this year. The train was lurching and stopping and when she was in the corridors looking for you, she was thrown into my compartment. I told her to stay, even though she said you would be angry if she did. Then the train lurched again and we fell and I landed on top of her. We tried to get up and it happened again. That's when Flint came in. But I bet you didn't know that, huh?"

Melanie could feel her breathing slow down as her heartbeat picked up. Harry was standing up for her, even though they barely knew each other. Then Draco slung at Harry, his fist colliding with Harry's face. Melanie let out a shriek and Pansy started to laugh. Soon they were swinging at each other over and over again, then tumbling to the floor.

Draco was on top of Harry, hitting him in the face so many times, even though the blood poured out. "Stop it, Draco!" Melanie yelled, " _Please_ , stop it!" Draco looked up at her and got up. Then he walked away, not saying a word.

The crowd around them was huge, but Melanie was too scared to move. Once Draco was gone she jumped to the floor near Harry. "Harry…I-I'm so sorry," She tried not to cry, but she was just too scared, and the tears flowed anyways. He brought his hand up to her cheek and brushed away her tears. "You're bleeding." She breathed looking down at him, brows furrowed.

Harry let out a laugh as he sat up, and Melanie gave a small smile too. "Hold still," She said, as she took her scarf from her robes. She began to dab at the cuts on his face, trying to make them clot so the bleeding would stop. As Hermione walked up with Ron, water in hand Melanie wordlessly made a move for the water. The pair began to fuss about Harry's face, asking what had happened; who had done it; why was he bleeding so much? Melanie stuck the tip of her finger in the water and dabbed at the cut near his lip.

As she was about to pull away and grab the scarf, he had turned into her; before she could even more her hand from his face, her finger was between his lips. Ever so gently Harry kissed her finger despite his blood covering her hand, causing her to flush a deep red color.

Melanie pulled her hand away, but the moment did not go unnoticed by the other two-thirds of the trio. Ron and Hermione looked at each other then back at Harry. Melanie put some of the water on her scarf and wiped some of the blood on his forehead, trying to get the tingling feeling out of her finger and trying to ignore the silence that had now settled over the four.


	5. Caring

Harry gently moved himself around Melanie so he could get to his feet. He didn't want to be too sudden with her; he knew she was jumpy, and he didn't want to startle her. She immediately moved back a foot, and folded her hands onto her lap.

She avoided looking at him; feeling terrible for getting Harry hurt. He was the first one to actually stand up for her, and look what happened. She couldn't let Harry get hurt for her again. Slowly, she stood up. She had to go find Draco before he came back. Melanie knew Draco wasn't finished. He had probably disappeared to find Blaise or Flint, and if he came back with them, Harry would be in trouble.

Ron and Hermione knelt beside Harry. "Why'd you do it?" Ron asked, helping Harry to his feet. Melanie stayed where she was.

"Someone needs to teach that git a lesson," he replied, glaring down the hall where Draco had disappeared. Melanie felt her cheeks flush. She realized Hermione and Ron were probably mad at her for getting Harry hurt.

So she was surprised when she saw a hand extended down to her. Looking up, she saw Harry smiling down at her. Tentatively she took his hand and let him her easily to her feet. She immediately withdrew her hand and looked back down. She could feel Hermione and Ron staring at her.

The crowd from the mini-fight was already dispersing, though some had stayed to stare, but she felt a little less crowded. Harry gently put his hand on Melanie's shoulder, "You don't have to be scared with me, Mel. I'm never going to hurt you."

 _It was Melanie's first day of Transfiguration class. Her best friend, Draco, didn't have this one with her, and she felt alone. They had grown up together, what with their parents being close friends. They had been nearly inseparable, until of course this class came up. She missed him already._

 _As she took her seat and began to get her supplies out, she heard the chair next to her being moved. She looked up and locked eyes with Harry Potter. She couldn't help the blush that crept over her face; she was naturally shy, and Harry was, after all, pretty much a celebrity. To have him sitting next to her made her feel pretty honored._

 _"Hi, Melanie!" he said cheerfully, pulling out his things._

 _"Hi Harry," she said, her voice shaking._

 _"I'm glad we have this class together," he continued, not bothered by her shyness. She felt herself blush again. "I was sad when you got put in Slytherin."_

 _This took her by surprise._

 _"Oh, uh, I'm sorry," she said quickly, digging around her bag for her book. Her heart sunk as she realized she had left it lying on her bed in her rush this morning. Harry was studying her, and noticed this as well. He pulled his book out, opened it, and slid it in between them._

 _"We can share," he offered, smiling again. She smiled this time as well, and as the class began, she scooted a little closer to read better._

 _Things were going pretty well, until the shadow of Professor McGonagall fell across the desk. "Which one of you forgot your book?" She demanded, her face holding a rather frightening look for the first time. Melanie felt her stomach twist and she got ready for her punishment._

 _"I did, Professor," Harry said, giving her a weak smile. "I left it in the common room this morning. Melanie is sharing her book with me."_

 _Melanie stared wide eyed at Harry as McGonagall sighed. "Detention, Potter. Don't forget your book again."_

 _As Professor McGonagall walked away, Melanie leaned over to Harry, trying to keep her voice low. "Why did you say that? Now you're in trouble!"_

 _"I know," he replied, smiling at her. "But you're not."_

Melanie smiled timidly at Harry, who beamed back.

"That's better. Why don't we sit back down?" he offered, rubbing her shoulder gently. She nodded, and let Harry pull her in the right direction. His hand was soft and gentle, unlike Draco's hold. Always digging his fingers in… holding too tight… yanking her one way or the other. But not Harry. He was immediately soft with her, now steering her down the hall. Hermione and Ron followed too, not seeming upset or angry at all.

And then Melanie froze.

Draco was walking slowly down the hall, his eyes locked on her. Flint and Blaise followed close behind, their wands out.

"Melanie, get behind me," Harry said, stepping forward. He slowly drew his wand out as Hermione and Ron stepped forward.

"No, please don't, Harry," She pleaded, tugging on the sleeve of his robes.

"Get away from my girl, Potter," Draco warned, holding his wand up.

"Make me, Malfoy," he challenged, raising his wand as well.

"Melanie, get over here." Though she didn't move, her eyes stayed locked on Draco's. "Melanie! Now!" Still no movement. She wanted to stay behind Harry, where she somehow knew she was safe. "Melanie Christine," Draco seethed, his voice low and deadly, " Get over here. Right. Now."

Bowing her head, she began to walk past Harry but his fingers slid around her wrist, holding her in place. "Mel…"

"Get your filthy hands off her Potter!" Draco snarled. "STUPEFY!" The red jet of light flashed towards Harry. He immediately pushed Melanie out of the way. "EXPELIARMUS!"

 _This has to be a dream._ Melanie was dizzy, scared. _Why does Harry Potter care so much what happens to me, a filthy Slytherin?_

Their spells met in the middle and exploded, making Melanie, Ron, and Hermione duck for cover. Draco and Harry began shooting spells at one another, unaffected. Blaise and Flint jumped into the battle, as did Hermione and Ron. Students were cheering the fight on, as Melanie desperately tried to stop it. One of Draco's spells flew just barely over Harry's shoulders. She knew one of them would get hurt, and she needed to stop the fight.

"Draco! Draco, stop! Please!" She shouted, coming up beside Harry. Either Draco didn't hear her, or he didn't care.

"Flipendo!" he shouted, aiming for Harry. The spell was misaimed, though, and hit the compartment wall. It rebounded off the wall, and flew right past Harry. Right into Melanie. She was thrown back into the wall at full force, and she slid, motionless, to the ground.

"Melanie!" Harry cried, spinning around quicker than ever.

"Look what you did, Potter!" Draco cried, shoving past Harry.

Harry knew it was just for show. He didn't care. He could have killed her, and Malfoy wouldn't shed a single tear.

But Harry would.

Harry cared.


	6. Friendships

**I just noticed that the stats for this where it was originally written and posted were pretty good: 646 readers, 127 comments, 106 subscribers, 18 recommendations (newer feature, replaced the 10-start system), with just 26,308 words. Hopefully you guys will love this story just as much. Also, yes, I know that what is going on between Harry + Melanie seems odd, but there are instances where this is pointed out. Maybe we should have dedicated a few chapters to both Harry and Melanie and why they just clicked.**

A bigger crowd was around them, as they realized there had been some type of accident. A few of the students ran to find a teacher or someone who could help.

Hearing the commotion in the corridor, Professor Lupin came out and started to shoo everyone away. "What happened here?" He demanded, looking at the trio, Draco, and the stunned Melanie.

Both Harry and Draco started to blame each other when Professor Lupin brought up a hand to silence them. "Hermione," he said, turning, "Did you see what happened here?" Hermione merely nodded her head. "Well then, what happened ?" He asked, trying to keep a patient tone.

"Well you see sir, Harry and Melanie were talking when Draco came and started yelling about how Harry needed to get away from his girlfriend. Then Harry stepped in front of Melanie and started to yell at Draco about how he felt when he beat Melanie, asking if it felt good. Draco took the first swing so Harry was really just defending himself." Her words had come out in a bit of a rush, so she stopped to take a breath. "Then Draco left and Melanie helped to clean up Harry. Then Harry talked to Melanie, and we were all going to go sit down and talk when Draco, Flint , and Blaise started in our direction, all with their wands out. Draco started this fight too, so really Harry was just trying to protect the lot of us."

Professor Lupin held up his hand for Hermione to stop. He hadn't been expecting the entire story, but what else could you expect from Ms. Granger? He turned to the two prefects who were still lingering by and motioned to them. "Please escort Mr. Malfoy to a compartment and stay with him until the train arrives at Hogwarts. 50 points to each of your houses if you do."

Then he turned to Melanie. Well, he had seen worse. The girl had probably just been knocked out for a few minutes at the worst. Harry was helping her to her feet; she was a little unsteady, but fine besides that.

"Miss Parker," Professor Lupin said, looking sternly at her. "I'm asking you to please stay away from Mr. Malfoy from now on. I'll be having a word with Dumbledore to find a solution to this. And Potter," he turned to Harry and smiled. "Try and keep from being the center of attention like this. It's really wearing me out trying to keep you out of trouble."

"No problem Professor." Harry was grinning, which wasn't a surprise. As Lupin went back to discipline Draco, Harry turned to Melanie. "Are you alright?" He asked, looking her up and down. At least she seemed to be in one piece.

Melanie nodded automatically and said quietly, "Thanks for… for sticking up for me. No one has ever done that before."

"Well, I don't ever turn down a chance to fight Malfoy," he said, trying to bring some humor to the situation. Melanie gave him a pained smile, and he felt his stomach twist. Even after all they had just been through, Melanie couldn't help but to notice her feelings for Draco. She didn't want to say anything bad against him at all.

"Why don't you come sit with us?" Hermione offered sweetly, smiling tentatively at her.

"I really need to get back to Draco-"

"Nope, not on my watch," Harry announced, smiling at her. "The Professor told you to stay away from him, and I might as well help you out, right?"

Melanie nodded feebly as Harry led her back to the compartment. The train was approaching the school, and they still hadn't changed into the robes, but Harry felt better having her sit in the compartment than be left alone in the changing rooms. True, Hermione could go with her, but… No. Harry wouldn't risk it.

Melanie sat stiffly on the seat beside Harry as Ron and Hermione sat across from them. "So, how was your summer Melanie?" Ron asked conversationally, smiling at her.

Her shyness was obvious, eyes not meeting with anyone. "It was fine, thanks. You?"

Ron launched off into a day by day account of the summer they had all spent together, and Melanie tried to tune him out. _Draco will be so mad... Furious._

"We need to change. Why don't we just do that right here?" Harry suggested. Melanie stared wide-eyed at him, and he quickly said, "Ron and I will face one way, you and Hermione will face the other. We won't look until you say so."

Melanie still didn't budge. "You do need to change before we stop," he reminded her gently, pushing the robes she had set next to them into her arms.

"You won't look?" She asked again, staring intently to try and see if he was lying. He shook his head.

"I won't look. Promise."

Hermione stood up and faced the windows, while Ron and Harry faced the compartment door. Melanie stripped off her clothes as fast as she could, and was pulling up her skirt when she caught sight of Harry in the reflection. His strong, muscular back drew her in as she watched him pull his shirt on. His pants hung nicely off his waist, and he did look pretty good. Immediately, Melanie mentally smacked herself. How could she look at Harry like that? She was with Draco. She was a horrible person. She felt so guilty she almost forgot she had to get dressed the rest of the way until Harry asked,

"Are you done?"

Quickly, Melanie pulled her shirt on, then her robes. "Yeah, we're good," Hermione spoke up, offering Melanie a brilliant smile. Melanie sat back down next to Harry, and continued to listen to their summer as Ron described it, in detail.

As the train pulled to a halt, Melanie found herself actually smiling, genuinely smiling, as Ron described a crazy night of playing Quidditch in the pitch black. As the compartment door slid open, though, Melanie remembered she had to find Draco. She had to go back to being his little slave, following him around. Not sitting casually next to Harry, laughing with Hermione, or joking with Ron. It felt odd; it made Melanie feel hollow as she said her quiet goodbyes to the trio, and wandered down the hall towards where she figured Draco would be.

He was waiting for her, just as she thought. His body leaning against the compartment door, his lips drawn in a tight, angry line. Melanie approached him cautiously, head down per usual. Draco slid his arm around her shoulders, squeezing tighter than necessary. It was just a small bit of pain and she was used to it anyways.

He pulled her off the train and yanked her into the closest carriage, not minding that she tripped getting in and he hurt her arm as he relentlessly tugged her on board. Melanie sighed to herself and settled down next to Draco. Surprise, surprise, Pansy was on his other side, and this time Draco didn't try to pretend like she wasn't all but crawling into his lap. Melanie tried not to let it bother her as the carriage pulled away.

As the procession moved along, she caught sight of the trio riding behind her. Hermione and Ron sat across from Harry, who was looking intently at her carriage. She moved just a little closer to the window, and pulled the blinds back. Harry caught her eye, and smiled at her.

She smiled back; a genuine smile this time.


End file.
